If you’ve been browsing the B/R NFL section lately, you’ve probably come across a debate regarding the best NFL quarterbacks in history. This is my response to that claim.
9. Tom Brady
Modern football’s most outstanding quarterback is Tom Brady. He has won a record three Super Bowl championships before he was 26 years old. He has been awarded Super Bowl MVP in two of these games.
Brady won 10 straight playoff games, breaking Bart Starr’s previous record. Brady also has the most passes completed of any quarterback in Super Bowl history. He has completed 100 passes in four games.
In 85 attempts, Tom Brady has only lost one game in which his team led at any time in the game’s final quarter (during the regular season).
Unfortunately for Brady, the last time we remember him, he lost the Super Bowl after a perfect season and there was the Spygate controversy. He’ll probably rise up this ranking if he returns in his usual form within the following two seasons.
8. Bart Starr
One of the NFL’s most reliable and effective quarterbacks in recent history was Bart Starr. He led his team to five NFL titles and two Super Bowl victories.
Only Young has surpassed him in terms of passer rating in the NFL, which he topped five times.
When thinking about Starr, it’s important to keep in mind that he played at a time when the offensive and passing game were less dominant. Nevertheless, Starr is still regarded as one of the best passers in NFL history. Starr was an awful head coach, though.
7. Steve Young
Since Joe Montana, who is listed a bit lower on this list, spent his whole career in the spotlight, Steve Young is sometimes overlooked. Most people have underestimated this quarterback as a result of his poor early-career performance.
You probably already know that Young holds a number of passing records thanks to some of my prior picks. Aside from that, Young led the league in passer rating for four consecutive seasons. During each of these seasons, he was over 100.
In fact, Young scored 43 rushing touchdowns over his career, an incredible total for a quarterback. Young is potentially the NFL’s best passer in history.
Related: Top 10 Greatest NFL Teams of All Time
6. Otto Graham
Graham led his team to six consecutive NFL championship games and four consecutive AAFC titles before that. That is eleven championship games in a row. I still cannot believe I am saying that.
He won seven of these games.
Graham has the highest career passer rating of any quarterback prior to the live ball era (86.6). His career yards per attempt is nine r. The best in NFL history, to be sure.
5. John Elway
John Elway threw for 51,475 yards, 300 touchdowns, and 226 interceptions in 234 games. He also ran for 407 yards and 33 touchdowns on 774 times.
With the Broncos, Elway won two Super Bowls and played in several more.
The primary reason Elway makes my top five is the fashion in which he won. Elway is well known for his late game winning drives. His clutch performances have helped to elevate him into being one of the all time greats.
4. Johnny Unitas
The Golden Arm set a record by passing for a touchdown in 47 straight games.
Only Favre has surpassed Unitas’ record of 10 Pro Bowl appearances in the NFL.
Unitas played in what has been called Greatest Game Ever Played. He led his squad to an overtime victory over the much favored Giants.
Unitas threw 32 touchdowns in 1959. This season there were 12 games . If he continued at his current rate through the 16 games on the current schedule, it would equal to almost 42 touchdown passes.
Although it is not the current record, his achievement is still highly remarkable given how much harder it was to be a great quarterback in football in 1959. Unitas led his team to three championship games during his career.
Related: The Best NFL Players of All Time – G Fanatics
3. Dan Marino
Dan Marino may be the greatest quarterback in NFL history. According to the stats, Marino is in second place in all of these:
Most Attempts, Career: 8,358
Most Completions, Career: 4,967
Most Yards Passing, Career: 61,361
Most Touchdown Passes, Career: 420
Most Touchdown Passes, Season: 48
Most Seasons, 3,000 or more Yards Passing: 13 (1984-92, 1994-95, 1997-98)
Most Consecutive Seasons, 3,000 or more Yards Passing: 9 (1984-92)
Most Games, Three or more Touchdown Passes, Career: 62
Lowest Percentage, Passes Intercepted, Rookie Season: 2.03 in 1983 (296-6)
His name is first in a wide range of other statistical categories, but I picked the one in which he came in second since no single player was able to break his records in all of those categories.
That means that even though he may be second in a lot of categories, no one player can be ahead of him in enough of them to be considered better.
Additionally, the players who have surpassed him in several categories have had longer careers and better surrounding teams throughout their careers.
The fact that Marino has never won a championship is the only reason he is not at the top of my list. I’ll accept that Marino would rank as the best quarterback in history if he had won even one Super Bowl.
2. Terry Bradshaw
The squad that Bradshaw started out on was awful. The Steelers had a terrible record prior to Chuck Noll. Really bad
He had to lead this team, and though this should not increase considerations of his skill, he had to do it with numerous mental illnesses.
In his prime, Bradshaw broke a number of passing records, including his 932 yards and nine touchdown passes in four Super Bowls. Bradshaw also passed for 3,833 yards in the postseason.
This is a crucial thing to remember while thinking about Bradshaw. He played at one of the most challenging times in NFL history in terms of scoring and getting offensive yards. Some even refer to it as the NFL scoring drought.
This era saw the biggest, swiftest, and most effective defenses ever. During this time, steroid abuse and testing were reportedly common across the NFL, which made issues worse.
During this time, players’ pads were larger, which made it more difficult for players to sneak by defenders, perform finesse moves, and do any of the amazing athletic things we see today.
Therefore, offenses during this period had very little protection. There wouldn’t be any consequences if defensive players hit the quarterback late or strike him anywhere on his body with any part of their body.
Despite playing hurt for almost the entirety of his career, Bradshaw still managed to achieve the results he did.
Taking all of this into account, one of the main reasons Bradshaw is so highly regarded in my eyes is because his clutch performances meant a lot to me. If a player is at his best when it matters most, they get bonus points.
Only Bradshaw has participated in four overtime Super Bowl winning drives in NFL history. He is also one of two players to have won four Super Bowls.
1. Joe Montana
I don’t have to write nearly as much for this one. Nearly everyone agrees that Montana is the best quarterback in NFL history. The GOAT!!
Over his career, Montana threw for more than 40,000 yards, earning a passer efficiency rating of 92.3, and winning four Super Bowls.
There isn’t much explanation needed for this choice. If somebody argues with me on this, I will clarify.
Well everyone, the time has come, tell me why I’m wrong.
Conclusion
Above is a list of the best NFL quarterbacks in history. These legends have devoted themselves to making this sport more popular and attractive.
